Summer Camp 2014 Comes To An End! 
See You In December Campers!

 

Dear Everyone who attended our camps this summer,

The camp is over and now your children have the mundane, boring, and absolutely chessless task of starting school again with only a brief respite of a few hours of their favorite game throughout the week. 

Overall in our now eighteen year history this was our best summer ever!

According to the numbers over 190 campers attended during the last ten weeks which is a record.  Despite this the attendance in Fair Lawn was lower than last year which suggests there is still room to grow and expand.

The benefit to those students who attended for multiple weeks was considerably higher as they saw their USCF chess rating grow by a few hundred points with a few crossing the 1000 rating barrier.  It is not surprising at all since one week of chess camp equals about ten hours of chess instruction which is almost equal to one hour per one semester during the school year! 

On a somewhat serious note we would also like to address the issue of awarding prizes to campers.  While we strive to create categories and opportunities for all campers to get a prize (and even award kids for effort if they try but don’t actually win something) it does still happen that the occasional camper just doesn’t try to win anything and shows a lack of interest in participating in all categories.  The irony is that despite explanations that there won’t be prizes for them if they don’t try those same kids may be surprised or upset to see their fellow campers win 3, or 4 awards while they receive none.

We want everyone to participate, have fun, and get rewarded, and not feel entitled to anything just because the other kids all got prizes.  Each camper is responsible to themselves and if they work hard there will be a reward and this is something we mention time and again in both the camp and in letters such as this so as to help push all of your and by extension our kids to succeed in the future.

Thank you, enjoy the school year, and remember about our winter camp this December!

Sincerely,

 

The ICA Staff